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8/23/2010 5:51PM

Iran's Nuclear Program Like a Car on a Highway

WSJ's Jerry Seib compares Iran's nuclear program to a car moving down the road towards weapons capability. He explains how U.S. policy is designed to slow down that car and ultimately offer an exit ramp for Tehran to get off the highway.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

I ... this is Jerry Sithe in Washington ... the story to watch this fall is going to be the continued international efforts to stop Iran's nuclear program before it becomes capable ... of producing nuclear weapons ... in my latest Capital Journal column ... appearing in the effort to stop the Iranian nuclear program to a highway ... the running for him is kind of a car chiding on the highway ... toward a destination is not really clear how long it's gonna take the car to get this destination in this case the ability to make nuclear weapons ... in what US policy is designed to do right now is to slow down the car ... to make it more expensive to make that journey ... and also lead to build the next the Rams Alicante off the highway and stopped this ... journey toward nuclear weapons capability entirely ... source Lipper those three things Insurance for small the effort increase the costs of the program ... when things is working pretty well right now is the effort to impose economic sanctions on Iran as a penalty for not opening up and changing its nuclear program ... and the sexy going surprisingly well the UN Security Council in June passed a resolution imposing new sanctions ... on the Iranian economy ... since then the US the European Union in Canada of all impose additional sanctions of their own ... and U S officials tell me that Japan and South Korea are likely to do the same the next few days ... all in all this has had the effect of choking off some shipments of goods to Iran spinner harder for the Iranians to get gasoline for example which they need because they can't find her on gasoline ... Tom and seems to be critics the strain on the economic ... condition of the Iranian regime ... so the effort to make this drive down the Nuclear Highway Bar costly is having some success right now ... the second question is is is slowing down the nuclear program is a little harder to answer but it does seem clear that there are some technical difficulties that are slowing down the Iranian thrive and having a harder time getting the equipment they need to make this ... effort that they have ... a work technologically more easily ... it's a big names hands or uranium reprocessing Center for example if the Iranians have set up only about half the center features that are in place there are believed to be working right now ... so that has slowed and the ability of the run is to produce enriched uranium which can in turn of course slows down their ability to amass the material they would need ... to make nuclear weapons if that's what they choose to do ... so that we just to the acts or ramp if it's costly and slow isn't possible the Iranians will decide it's not worth the effort to look for a graceful way off the Nuclear Highway well it's possible I don't think anybody that I've talked to things is very likely ... but if there's a chance that the Iranians might be looking for a way off this road one of things the US its allies even try to do the next few weeks is to build the next three to say to the Iranians more clearly ... if you stop enriching uranium the key stop working on a heavy water research reactor that is under way ... and if you talk to the IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency to clear up a lot of questions about the facilities you build for your nuclear program ... then the the outside world could live sanctions and oh by the way ... the US and its allies would actually be willing to work with Iran to provide nuclear fuel for an honest peaceful nuclear energy program ... and that's been discussing the path so one of things the book for this fall ... is whether the Iranians are really interested in having a conversation or whether this is something that is kind of a pipe dream though half the set aside ... we'll know more in the next few weeks because the effort is under way ... to start reviving negotiations with the Iranians in Mexico's from Iran about that right now ... I think this falls can be a crucial period to walk ... this is Jerry Sithe in Washington ...